Contents

Background

When the Sage of the Six Paths separated its chakra from its body to create the tailed beasts, he sealed the hollowed husk that was the Ten-Tails's body within the moon, where it remained until it was summoned by Madara Uchiha, who had acquired Senju DNA and awakened the Rinnegan. Madara then christened the empty husk the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.[4]

During his old age, Madara was able to cling onto life by attaching himself to the statue via the living clone where it served as a means of life support by constantly supplying him with chakra.[5] Madara also used the power of the statue to catalyse the cells he had obtained from Hashirama Senju in order to create a mindless replica of Hashirama, and the artificial humans it produced.[3] It was only after finding someone to carry on his preparations for the Eye of the Moon Plan, that Madara disconnected himself from the Demonic Statue and with his dying breath told the young man that until the time he was revived he was to act using his name.[6] As Madara explained to Obito, teaching him the methods to control it, the rebirth of the Ten-Tails by feeding the Tailed Beasts to the Demonic Statue is vital to the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Demonic Statue summoned by Nagato.

During the Third Shinobi World War, when Hanzō enlisted the aid of Danzō Shimura's RootANBU to eliminate the rising threat of the organisation Akatsuki, with Konan taken hostage and Yahiko sacrificing himself to save her, an enraged and grief-fueld Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue, which pierced his back with a number of black rods and emaciated him while giving him the power kill all of Hanzō's men with only Hanzō escaping the altercation alive.[7] Since then, as Pain, Nagato would summon the statue whenever a jincūriki or tailed beast would be caught in order to have the Akatsuki members extract and seal the beast within it.

Appearance

The statue is a giant, humanoid entity with most of its body looking decayed. When first summoned it burst out from the ground, with only its upper torso and arms visible. Its back has a number of spike-like protrusions. When it is first summoned by Nagato, the Statue is blindfolded. During subsequent Akatsuki appearances, nine slots for its (normally closed) eyes are present in the blindfold. In these appearances its arms are also bound in shackles and it has a bit in its mouth. When it was fully seen after being summoned by Tobi, it is seemingly wearing some form of robe, and when seen in Tobi's hideout, its ankles also appeared to be bound in shackles. The long protrusion of chakra amplifying metal from when it connected to Nagato is also present coming from its midsection resembling an umbilical cord. When summoned into battle the statue is not bound by restraints. During its regeneration into the Ten-Tails, the Demonic Statue's appearance starts to change, which is most noticeable around its mouth area, and from the spikes on its body which have begun to extend and in some cases, warp their shape.

Abilities

The dragon-like entity from the statue removing souls.

Only those who possess both Uchiha and Senju DNA, or the Rinnegan, are capable of summoning and controlling the Demonic Statue. When summoned, the statue bursts from the ground, emerging either partially or entirely, depending on the situation. When Nagato summoned the Statue, the black rods emerging from its stomach, which Madara stated to be created from his will, pierced his back and the Statue emitted a dragon-like form of energy from its mouth. When this dragons came into contact with ordinary humans, the humans' souls were ripped from their bodies, killing them.

The members of Akatsuki utilised a sealing technique in which nine of these dragons would surround a jinchūriki or tailed beast until the tailed beast's chakra was gathered into the Statue's mouth and stored inside for future use. Nagato wanted to use these beasts to create a weapon that could destroy an entire country. Tobi however, intends to reassemble them into the Ten-Tails. In combination with the chakra chains of the Outer Path, the stored tailed beast chakra can be directed and stored back into the previous jinchūriki, and can be quickly withdrawn back into the statue should Tobi desire.

As evident from his enormous size, the Statue possesses great strength, enough to clash with the likes of Chōza and Chōji Akimichi in their colossal forms. It was also shown to be durable enough to take one of Chōji's Butterfly Bullet Bombing punches without even being pushed back, and stop Kitsuchi's Earth Release: Sandwich Technique, just by outstretching its arms. In the anime, it also displayed a high level of agility despite its massive size, as it could leap tremendous distances. It is also capable of creating shock waves capable of devastating an entire battlefield, and from the protrusions on its back, launching energy blasts.

The statue itself was used as a life-support of sort for the elderly Madara Uchiha, who was connected to it via three, thick, long chords stretching from Hashirama's living clone.[5]White Zetsu and his clones are also able to access the statue's power by connecting themselves to the living clone. Spiral Zetsu did this to augment his strength, enabling him to break the massive boulder that had been used to seal a passageway out of the hideout.[8]

Part II

Kazekage Rescue Arc

The statue being used to extract the tailed beast.

Years later, Nagato made it the means behind Akatsuki's tailed beastextraction. When Sasori and Deidara arrive in an Akatsuki hideout with Gaara, Nagato summons it to extract the One-Tailed Shukaku over a period of three days, sealing it into the statue. When the sealing begins, the bit falls from the Statue's mouth and nine dragon-like entities burst forth from the statue's mouth. As the sealing nears completion, one of the eyes corresponding to the beast that is being sealed opens. After the sealing finishes, the statue disappears.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc

The statue is summoned to seal two tailed beasts, the Two-Tails and the Three-Tails, during which process Nagato explains Akatsuki's goals. As a result, Yugito Nii dies.

Itachi Pursuit Arc

After Kisame captures Rōshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki, he and Itachi discuss the sealing of the tailed-beasts. Itachi says that they don't need to rush to capture the Nine-Tails, since that beast is supposed to be the last one sealed, or else the statue would break apart.

Invasion of Pain Arc

Five Kage Summit Arc

After Nagato's death, Tobi indicates that Nagato was just a pawn that the Demonic Statue had been synchronised with. He states he would like Sasuke Uchiha to be Nagato's replacement, but decided to wait until Sasuke was easier to manipulate.

Shinobi World War Arc

After accepting the terms of Kabuto Yakushi's alliance, Tobi reveals the statue located within the depths of his headquarters, seated atop of a giant lotus flower, whose stem harbours a copy of Hashirama Senju. Directing Kabuto's vision downwards to the flower's roots, housed in a deeper underground cave, Tobi presents the army of enhanced White Zetsu that he had created using the chakra of the tailed beasts imprisoned within the statue.

Retreating to a forested area, Tobi stands atop of the statue's palms alongside his Six Paths of Pain, as dawn breaks on the second day. After Son Gokū is freed from Tobi's control during his confrontation with Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B, he immediately summons the statue to his present location, where it proceeds to draw the bound beast into its awaiting maw and reseals the Four-Tails inside itself. As Tobi continues to observe the ensuing battle from atop the statue, he is ultimately forced to reseal the remaining tailed beasts in the same manner as Son, when they too are freed by Naruto. The statue remained on the battlefield aiding Tobi in his fight against Naruto, B, Kakashi and Guy.

As a combined assault from Naruto, B, Kakashi and Guy knocks the statue down, goading from Naruto forces Tobi to summon the Kohaku no Jōhei and the Benihisago, which Tobi allows the statue to devour. Having sealed the portion of the Eight-Tails they had received during Taka's battle earlier, the Demonic Statue now had all nine tailed beasts' chakra within it and Tobi prepared to revive the Ten-Tails. Clutching its head while roaring, the statue undergoes the process with Tobi safeguarding it from any who would attack it and hinder the ritual. As several of the protrusions on the statue's body began to extend and its eyes start to bleed, Kakashi attempted to warp away the statue's neck. This attack was, however, nullified through Tobi's own Kamui, shocking Kakashi greatly.

While still changing, B attempts to attack it and Tobi uses the Uchiha Flame Battle Encampment to cover it in a cylindrical barrier of fire to keep others from attacking it. Madara upon later arriving to the battlefield realised that the Eight and Nine-Tails had not been sealed into the statue and moved to correct this, noting that there was still time.

As a final attempt to eradicate the statue with one attack, a transformed Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B create a giant Tailed Beast Ball, and fired it at the statue. As the two noted that the statue's chakra had vanished, they began to celebrate before the smoke clears and the revived Ten-Tails is revealed, and Obito announced that it was the end of this world.[9]

Influences

The decayed appearance of the statue, and its posture when not in use, is similar to a Sokushinbutsu (即身仏), a practice by Buddhist monks to commit ritualistic suicide by self-mummification.

As with the Sage of Six Paths, the statue is influenced by Buddhist terminology. Gedō (外道; Literally meaning "Outer Path"), derived from the Sanskrit Tīrthika, refers to any doctrine which "treads the outer path" to enlightenment. This is opposed to the teachings of orthodox Buddhism, the Naidō (内道; Literally meaning "Inner Path"), and is thus considered misguided and heretical, which led to a translation of this statue being the Demonic Statue of Heretical Doctrine.